Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.15
Liaison Amber Saxton
Submission Date Jan. 8, 2021

STARS v2.2

George Mason University
OP-11: Sustainable Procurement

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Amber Saxton
Sustainability Program Manager
Office of Sustainability

Criteria

Part 1. Institution-wide sustainable procurement policies

Institution has written policies, guidelines, or directives that seek to support sustainable purchasing across multiple commodity categories, institution-wide. For example:

  • A stated preference for post-consumer recycled or bio-based content, for carbon neutral products, or to otherwise minimize the negative environmental impacts of products and services.

  • A stated intent to support disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises and/or local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), or otherwise support positive social and economic impacts and minimize negative impacts.

  • A vendor code of conduct or equivalent policy that sets standards for the social and environmental responsibility of the institution’s business partners that exceed basic legal compliance.

Part 2. Life Cycle Cost Analysis

Institution employs Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) as a matter of policy and practice when evaluating energy- and water-using products, systems, and building components (e.g., HVAC systems). Practices may include structuring requests for proposals (RFPs) so that vendors compete on the basis of lowest total cost of ownership (TCO) in addition to (or instead of) purchase price.

Please note that LCCA is a method for assessing the total cost of ownership over the life cycle of a product or system (i.e., purchase, installation, operation, maintenance, and disposal). Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), by contrast, is a method for assessing the environmental impacts of a product or service over its life cycle. While LCAs may inform the sustainability criteria recognized in Part 1 and Part 3 of this credit, Part 2 specifically recognizes institutions that employ LCCA.

Part 3. Product-specific sustainability criteria

Institution has published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating products and/or services in one or more of the following categories. The criteria may be included in broader policies such as those recognized in Part 1, however they must address the specific sustainability challenges and impacts associated with products and/or services in each category, e.g. by requiring or giving preference to multi-criteria sustainability standards, certifications and labels appropriate to the category.

Category

Examples

A. Chemically intensive products and services

Building and facilities maintenance, cleaning and sanitizing, landscaping and grounds maintenance.

  • Published measures to minimize the use of chemicals.

  • A stated preference for green cleaning services and third party certified products.

  • Including sustainability objectives in contracts with service providers.

B. Consumable office products

Batteries, lamps, paper, toner cartridges

  • A stated preference for post-consumer recycled, agricultural residue, or third party certified (e.g., FSC) content.

  • A stated preference for extended use, rechargeable, or remanufactured products.

  • A stated preference for low mercury lamps.

C. Furniture and furnishings

Furniture, flooring, ceilings, walls, composite wood.

  • A stated preference for third party certified materials and products (e.g., FSC or LEVEL certified)

  • A stated preference for furnishings that are low-VOC or free of flame retardants

D. Information technology (IT) and equipment

Computers, imaging equipment, mobile phones, data centers, cloud services, scientific and medical equipment.

E. Food service providers

Contractors, franchises, vending and catering services. (Food and beverage purchasing is covered in Food & Dining.)

  • Including sustainability objectives in contracts with on-site food service providers.

  • Requiring that dining service contractors pay a living wage to employees.

F. Garments and linens

Clothing, bedding, laundry services.

  • Published labor and human rights standards that clothing suppliers must meet.

  • A stated preference for organic, bio-based, or recycled content textiles.

G. Professional service providers

Architectural, engineering, public relations, and financial services.

  • A stated preference for disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, or B Corporations.

H. Transportation and fuels

Travel, vehicles, delivery services, long haul transport, generator fuels, steam plants.

  • Published measures to minimize the size of the campus fleet or otherwise reduce the impacts of travel or transport.

  • A stated preference for clean and renewable technologies.

Policies and directives adopted by entities of which the institution is part (e.g., government or the university system) may count for this credit as long as the policies apply to and are followed by the institution.


Applicability

This credit applies to all institutions.


Scoring

Each part is scored independently.

Part 1

An institution earns 0.5 point for Part 1 of this credit for having written policies, guidelines, or directives that that seek to support sustainable purchasing across multiple commodity categories, institution-wide. Partial points are not available for Part 1.

Part 2

An institution earns 1 point for Part 2 of this credit for employing Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) as a matter of policy and standard practice when evaluating all energy- and water-using products and systems. Partial points are available for institutions that employ LCCA less comprehensively. For example, an institution that employs LCCA for certain types of systems or projects and not others would earn 0.5 points (half of the points available for Part 2).

Part 3

Institution earns 0.25 points for each category of products and/or services for which it has published sustainability criteria. A maximum of 1.5 points are available for Part 3.


Measurement

Timeframe

Report on current policies and practices at the time of submission.

Sampling and Data Standards

Not applicable.

 

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.